Kyle Borland

Storyteller and strategist at the intersections of cannabis, branding & communications, justice, and Urbanism.

Aug 20 Saw White Abolitionist for the first time yesterday.

I saw the term “White Abolitionist” for the first time yesterday, in regards to our current system of white supremacy. The image described the identities of white people, from supremacist to abolitionist. I really thought about where I was on the spectrum. “What does one have to do to be an abolitionist?”

The words “Mission 2040” screamed at me from the paper I was writing on. So much of what I do revolves around the idea: how does America get to 2040? What will she look like? Where will she stand?

As Americans, we believe the arch of the universe bends toward justice. For that to be true, America’s whiteness will fade into history. It will be replaced by vibrancy with glistening green eyes and olive skin.

We took this land. We took people from their homes. We built an empire to conquer the world atop a mountain of bones and backs. It is our moral imperative as Americans to right that wrong.

Whiteness: from a supremacist to an abolitionist

White abolitionism is the acceptance of that fact. It’s not the acceptance of America in 2018 or 2020. It’s not even accepting the America coming in 2040. It’s about seeing America in 100, 200, 500 or 1000 years. What do you see? What do you want to see? What do we have to do to get there?

If you want our civilization to last, you must disconnect from whiteness. If you want to be German, Irish, Swedish or British — there’s a continent for you.

For those of us who want to fulfill our nation’s Great Experiments — Liberty and Diversity — there is a new “West” to create. We must unite our hemisphere. We must join the Americas into one union that can compete in the modern world and defend the mantle of liberty for another millennia.

The States alone cannot realize our dream, we need the rest of America.